A third-grade assignment set Lynn Morris on the path to becoming a pharmacist.
“All the students had to do an essay on occupations, and through the help of the teacher and my parents, I chose pharmacy,” says Morris, president and owner of Family Pharmacy.
Morris earned his pharmacy degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He and his wife, Janet, opened the first Family Pharmacy location in 1977, filling 12 prescriptions on opening day.
Now, Family Pharmacy has more than 20 retail pharmacies, three nursing home pharmacies and ancillary lines of business including a bargain outlet, photo studio and center, and frozen custard store. While Morris and his 300 employees fill as many as 10,000 prescriptions a day, he says personal service – including learning customers’ names – is still important.
“It’s been driven into our employees that it’s essential that they have interaction with every customer,” he adds.
Family Pharmacy administers more than 10,000 seasonal flu vaccinations annually and has a discount drug plan for more than 30,000 members of all ages.
But Morris’ aim isn’t just to sell more prescriptions. He notes that each Family Pharmacy store has a wellness section with alternative options.
“I guess you could describe it as a vitamin center on steroids,” Morris says. “Not everybody can afford to go the doctor and get prescriptions every week.”
He says the integration of traditional pharmaceutical services and holistic treatments fits with his overall goal.
“We actually want to make people feel better, live stronger, stay healthier, and hopefully, they won’t need as many prescriptions,” he says, noting that a specialty pharmacy is expected to open in Ozark in 2011, focusing on patients with high-end prescriptions or special needs.
Daniel Serven, owner and administrator of Ozark Riverview Manor and Riverview Residential Place, has known Morris since the 1970s, when his nursing home became the first served by Morris and Family Pharmacy. Serven says Morris uses the right combination of innovation and compassion.
“He’s always thinking about customers first, how he can serve them better,” Serven says. “He comes to meetings here all the time. You can see the concern on his face for doing things and doing them right.”
